Starting the year right

2023 has been great so far, filled with so many get-togethers with family and friends. Some of them were post-Christmas celebrations and some were reunions with people who were in town. One of my closest friends from my second company, Duncan, had a business trip to the Philippines. He was staying at Shangri-La The Fort so we decided to have dinner at One Bonifacio which is just a short walk from the hotel. It's been about four years since we last saw each other so there was a whole lot of catching up that night, and if it wasn't for the meeting that Duncan needed to take later that night, we could have probably stayed out even longer. 

I passed by this Chinese New Year display at Shangri-La The Fort when I met up with Duncan

Raych, one of my dearest friends from my first company, was also in town. Dinner was at Crisostomo in Vertis North but because it was a Friday night and I was coming from work, I got stuck in very bad traffic and by the time I arrived, dinner was practically over. As such, we moved to La Creperie for dessert. It was my first time in La Creperie. The main course I got was not so good but I did love the crepes and crepe cakes we ordered. I'm really glad we got to catch up even if I was very late.

Crepe cake from La Creperie

Interestingly enough, I was also in Vertis North just a week before to meet up with my friends Denise and Ricci. We had been trying to organize a get-together with our friends from the CSR initiative in my previous company but most other people had to cancel at the last minute. We decided to push forward, even if there were just three of us. That was my first time in Vertis North and my first time at Katherine's Cafe. I really enjoyed the Blueberry French Toast I ordered. I wouldn't mind trying this place again, especially since they have a lot of items on their menu that appeal to me.

Blueberry French Toast at Katherine's Cafe

That same night, I joined a mini-high school reunion because Ed was in town. It must have been about four years since I last saw him so it was really good to catch up. Clearly, everyone enjoyed the evening as well because almost everyone arrived at around 6pm and we parted ways at past 2am. My friend Mitch commented that it was the latest we had all been together in a really long time (or maybe ever).

Dinner feast with my high school friends

My college friends and I also met up for a post-Christmas dinner - we had been trying to schedule something since November but our schedules just wouldn't mesh - and to celebrate Gary's birthday. We had an early dinner at Mamou in Ayala Malls The 30th (we took the 6 to 8pm seating) and since we needed to leave by 8, we moved to Lartizan for dessert and coffee. I actually got Gary a Concorde cake from Sugarhouse. Lartizan very nicely allowed us to eat the cake while we were there so we just ordered coffee and tea. Don't feel too bad for Lartizan though since Mike treated us all to take-out breads and pastries at 9pm, which is when a 50% discount is applied to many of their baked goods. Mike said that since he was unable to celebrate his birthday in November with us, he decided to treat everyone for an unplanned belated celebration. Cool!

Sugarhouse Concorde cake for Gary's birthday

I also met up with some ex-colleagues for breakfast at Gram Pancake. I had been there once and I promised myself I would go back but up until then, I hadn't yet. So when they were asking for venue ideas in BGC or Makati, I suggested this place and they all agreed. We all ordered our own dishes and while I wanted to get a souffle pancake, I decided to go with their Sausage and Eggs French Toast (with a side of bacon haha) since I wanted something savory. Since Tin also wanted to try the souffle pancakes, we all agreed to just order one and share it. Everyone enjoyed the food and Tin and Win felt that their kids would like this place so I'm glad I suggested it.

Sausage and Eggs French Toast at Gram Pancake

My ex-boss Jay also came home to Manila for Chinese New Year so we met up while he was here. He wanted to have dinner in the BGC area so we opted for Barcino in Uptown. It was great catching up with the gang and what made it even better was that we had a couple of guests pass by during the evening. The first one was Jody who I probably hadn't seen in 5 years. After he left, Magnus passed by. I honestly don't remember the last time I saw Magnus, who I worked with very closely for a few years about a decade ago. It always really good reconnecting with people with whom I have a lot of shared experience!

Jovan celebrated her birthday last month so we celebrated with a board game night (of course), lots of food, and some cake. I didn't want to surprise her anymore so I asked her directly what kind of cake she would like and she said she wanted a caramel cake. I ended up getting one from Costa Brava in Makati, which was only about a 15-20 minute drive from our game night venue. While Jovan wasn't surprised by the cake choice, she still enjoyed it.

Jovan's birthday cake from Costa Brava

Finally, I attended a couple of family reunions. My uncle Tito (yes, his nickname is Tito so we actually call him Tito Tito haha) was in Manila for the first time in years so his family organized lunch at their home. While it started during lunch, it extended all the way to the evening. In the late afternoon, some folks said that we should have some musical entertainment so Tito Chet started playing the guitar and I ended up singing maybe about 20 songs that afternoon/evening. My grandmother also sang. I'm really very grateful that she is still strong enough to be able to go to parties and even sing! My brother passed by in the late afternoon to pick us up but once he arrived, our relatives asked him to stay. He ended up singing and playing the guitar too. I guess music runs in my family haha! It was a really good day (albeit a bit tiring for me as I sang so many songs haha).

Tita Ace and Tito Sandro also hosted a party in late January since a lot of our relatives hadn't been to their house yet and they wanted to see it. Many of my relatives went to Kalibo for Ati-Atihan so after lunch, we were regaled with many stories and anecdotes from their recent trip. Naturally, the afternoon wouldn't be complete without musical entertainment. It just so happened that Tito Chet was there and my cousin Alfonso had a guitar so we started playing again. The singing and guitar-playing was shared by many people so I just sang a few songs this time haha.

It's amazing how many get-togethers I've attended in just over a month. Hopefully, this is a sign that the rest of 2023 will be filled with wonderful moments with family and friends.